John J. Daley Obituary



John J Daley's Obitary
Not much information

Sometimes it is the lack of information within a document which might provide a clue to an ancestor. For instance, when I obtained John J. Daley’s obituary, I hoped it might contain clues about his parents or siblings. Although, the short write up did not mention his family at all, it still gave me some information.

In comparing his obituary to his death records, neither of which John probably gave the information for, it is apparent that his children did not know much about his past or his family. His older son George Daley is recorded to have given the information on his death record, which lists John’s father as another John Daley and his birthplace as Boston, Ma. I do not think either piece of information is accurate.

In his obituary, no information is given about parents or notifications to siblings or friends. To me, this either means they were not part of his life or he had little enough to do with them that his children would not have known who they were. Either way, it makes my job just a little more difficult. Oh well, such is genealogy sometimes. On to the next document and hopefully better luck.

William Joseph Daley 1896 - 1974



William Joseph Daley born 10 Nov 1896

William Joseph Daley was the first child of my great-great grandparents, John J Daley and Ellen Tully. I know very little about his life other than what I have learned from relatives and from his historic paper trail. As far as the basic facts, I know that he was born 10 Nov 1896. Like the rest of this Daley generation, he was born in Boston, Ma.

I have heard from relatives that William was a particularly charming guy, and he was also described as being somewhat of a rogue. I also know that he served in the Navy, though I have not been able to acquire these records as of yet. I assume, only because of his age, that he served in WWI.

Apparently William and his father suffered a falling out in their lives. I know from records that William was married twice. However, I can only find a record for his second marriage to a New Brunswick native by the name of Jane E. Burke. Both the bride and the groom listed this as their second marriage. He reported his status as widowed and she divorced. They were marriage 30 Nov 1930 in New Hampshire.


Marital Record for William Daley and Jane Burke



William Daley and Jane Burke Marital Record Page 2

It is interesting to note the inaccuracies William reported on the second page of the form. He noted that both his parents were born in Boston, Ma. However, I know for a fact Ellen Tully was born in Galway, Ireland. In addition, John J Daley was probably born in Galway as well, though he often listed his birthplace as New York City. William also listed John J’s career as engineer. I know he was a steamfitter who worked for the city of Boston, so I wonder about the accuracy of that statement as well.

After being married William Daley and Jane Burke moved to Lewiston, Maine, at least in 1932. However on his father’s will in 1949, William’s residence was listed as Dorchester, Ma. Either way, according to the Maine death indexWilliam passed in Lewiston, Maine 24 April 1974. At least one Daley relative recalls visiting him there.

William was included as an inheritor on John J Daley’s last will and testament. However, John J. was careful note that if William inherited property, William’s second wife and their children would be excluded from the inheritance. In addition, he left William’s step children only $1 each, while he had left his other grandchildren quite a bit more. I am not sure why William and John Daley suffered a falling out, but it seems that it had something to do with his second marriage.

I am continuing my attempts to locate all the descendants of John J Daley and Ellen Tully. However, no one I have talked to knows the location of William’s descendants. As William was John and Ellen’s first child, it is possible the family has photos or records that could help nail down the exact origins of the Daley family, or at least close another chapter on the mysterious life of John J. Daley.

My Ancestry DNA Results

Well, after waiting in anticipation for a couple months, my genetic ancestry results just came in from Ancestry DNA. I ordered the DNA test from Ancestry for a few reasons. I wanted to find connections between my Daley clan and other related families. I also wanted to see if my DNA results would be able to link me with the family of my grandfather’s biological mother. Lastly, I was just curious.

Mostly, the results came back as suspected. My maternal grandfather’s family, my paternal grandmother’s family, and most of my paternal grandfather’s family were all from Ireland. That would be 10 out of 14 great great grandparents.

However, a good portion of my mother’s family were also French, Flemish, and Belgian. Through my mother, I belong to the well researched Goulet family, which traces their ancestry back to Jacques Goulet, who traveled from Normandel France, in Lower Normandy, to Quebec in 1646. However, as you can see 7% of my ancestry is listed as unknown rather than French or something similar.

At first, I thought this was a little odd. However, as my mother would have inherited half her genes from her Irish-American father and half from her French-Canadian mother, I might inherit significantly less French genes from my own mother. In addition, the Surname Goulet is listed as a Breton surname. So, I suppose its possible the Goulets could have descended from the Celtic immigrants who fled from Britain to establish Brittany when their territory was conquered by Angles, Saxons, and Jutes after the fall of Rome.

I was also a little surprised I had no southern European or Italian ancestry, as I am pretty sure my grandfather’s mother was Italian, as listed in the 1930 US Census. However, Ancestry DNA has stated the unknown portion of my DNA ethnicity may be further defined in the future. So, it’s possible my future genetic profile will reflect what the paper-trail shows in my family tree.

I’m pretty excited to have my results in, as new DNA matches will be found every day. This is my first DNA test and since I already had a decently large tree established on Ancestry, I knew the results would be useful. I also knew that it would not be some magical tool that would fill in my ancestry without any work or research on my part. Still, I hope to use it as a tool to connect to other Daley families and fill in some of those holes and mysteries my family tree has become notorious for.

John Bernard Daley 1907 - 1922

One of the questions I continually ask about the life of my grandfather is why he was adopted into the home of the Daley family at the age of three. Before changing his Surname to Daley at the age of 18, my grandfather was known as Peter Statuto. This is the only clue we have about his biological mother until his birth records are released by the state in 2020. However, in the 1930 US Census, my grandfather appears as a ward of the state with the Daley family in Dorchester, Ma.

1930 US Census showing my grandfather with the Daley damily

My family and I once believed we knew who his biological father was. Of his mother, all I know of her is that her last name was Statuto, she was Italian, and she lived somewhere in Massachusetts in 1920. My grandfather became a ward of the Daleys when he was three years old. However, what truly prompted them to take him in remains a mystery. All I can do is guess based on records and the memories of older relatives.

My grandfather's adopted parents John J Daley and Ellen Tully had at least six children:
-William J Daley b. 1896
- Frank Joseph Daley b. 1898
- George Anthony Daley b. 1900
- Mary E Daley b. 1902
- John Bernard Daley b. 1907
- Helen M Daley b. 1909

Though most people in his early life knew he was adopted and that his mother was Italian, they did not know the full story. When I began investigating his early life, I heard quite a few interesting Peter Daley origin stories. For instance, I was told that John and Ellen Daley picked my grandfather up at the local Catholic Church, where he was being given away. It was 1920, so who knows?

It is really the life and death of John Bernard Daley that gives any clues as to why my grandfather was brought into the Daley family at all. John Bernard was born in Boston in 1907. He was named after his father John and one of Ellen’s brothers Bernard. I knew that John Bernard had died young, but did not know how young until I located his obituary in the Boston Globe archives this year.


Obituary of John Bernard Daley

According to the obituary, John Bernard died in January of 1922, at the age of only 14 years. My grandfather was born in June of 1920. He had been raised by the Daleys since the age of three. Therefore, the very next year after John Bernard’s death, my grandfather was brought into the Daley family.

I have been told that it was Ellen Tully who was the moving force behind adopting my grandfather. Perhaps he filled a void created by the loss of her son. I also know that my grandfather cared for her deeply. He never searched for his birth mother because he felt that role had been completely filled by Ellen Tully. She died when he was only 15. I can imagine that it must have been very difficult for him. However, as with most things, he did not speak of it.

Genealogical research can be very difficult, especially if you have holes and mysteries like my family does. I guess it is important to remember to look at different records like John Bernard’s obit, my grandfather’s change of name form, and the 1930 US Census to see if you can make sense of what was happening in the lives of your ancestors. Admittedly, I don’t know all the facts concerning my grandfather’s life. He was a very quiet man during his life. However, looking at these documents, now eight years after his death, I think I actually understand him a little better.

Daley Family Mystery Photo



Delia Daley and family
Taken in Dublin, Ireland

I originally obtained a copy of this photo from an older Daley relative. He did not know much about its origins, but believed it was a picture showing the sister of John J. Daley, my Great Great Grandfather. He did not know anyone in the picture. The only clues were a written message on the back of the photo, addressing the photo to John J. Daley from his fond sister Delia. I presume that Delia, is the older woman sitting toward the center.

This is one of the only pieces of evidence I have, along with the picture of John and his brother and the memories of my older relatives, which leads me to believe that John J. Daley actually had any siblings at all. According to family members, John's siblings might have been named Richard, Delia, and Winnie. This same relative estimated that Delia was born around 1866 and died around 1947, making her my ancestor's older sister. Her married name is not known. It is said his brother Richard moved to from Massachusetts to Philadelphia, though I can't find records to support this. Of his sister Winnie, I have no information. According to John J's marital records, his parents were named Michael Daley and Mary. His mother's maiden name was not recorded in this record unfortunately, which makes tracing his family very difficult.

One of the biggest mysteries concerning his family is where they were during his life. I have obtained all the baptismal records of his children from the Archdiocese of Boston, but surprisingly none of his relatives appeared as God parents to his children. In addition, he did not have a sibling as his best man during his wedding. Where were they?

Being able to find information about his siblings would hopefully lead to more information about his parents. I am particularly interested in his mother’s maiden name, as this would be very helping in sifting through all the Michael and Mary Daleys in records. Although the photo was apparently taken in Dublin, I do not know where this actual family was from. If anyone recognizes this 1920’s or 1930’s family please let me know, I’d love to be able to put at least one of these Daley mysteries to rest, as there are about a thousand others.

New Research - Ellen Tully Obituary

I have only recently found the obituary for my Great Great Grandmother, Ellen Tully. I knew she lived in Boston most of her life, but had not had access to the Boston Globe archives until this month. I was hoping the obituary would provide more clues to the origins of her husband’s family. In some ways it did, but the clues were not apparent at first.

According to the record, Ellen died in October of 1934, which I already knew. I also already knew she lived in Dorchester, Ma. The interesting part came at the end of the document. According to the obituary, relatives and friends in Springfield, Holyoke, New York City, and Philadelphia were notified of her passing.

I find this interesting because I did not know she had family outside of Boston and Ireland in 1934. Most of the Tully siblings, of which there were many, lived in and around Boston. In addition, according to an older relative, her husband might have had a sibling named Richard Daley who lived in either Philadelphia or Springfield.

Although, not really solid clues, sometimes family research is like this. Its also true that following little clues like this can sometimes lead to huge finds genealogically speaking. I certainly hope so.

John Joseph Daley- Naturalization

As I have said before, my great great Grandfather, John Joseph Daley is one of the more mysterious people on my family tree. In several resources in which he states that he was born in New York City. The family legend even says that he was born on the ship from Ireland to New York. However, if he was already a US citizen, I wonder why he went through the process of naturalization.

Only very recently I found John J’s naturalization records. These records are filed in three steps. The first step is the Declaration of Intention. This document provides a lot of background information for an ancestor. For John J, it was one of the only documents I’ve ever found that gave his exact birth date and potential area of origin.

According to John Declaration of Intention, he was a steamfitter who lived in Boston. He filed the papers September, 16, 1910. In the documents he states that he was born in County Galway, Ireland on September 21^st 1869. He also states that he immigrated to Massachusetts from Galway on April 22, 1887. He did not list the name of the ship.

His next documents were his Petition of Naturalization and his Oath of Allegiance. Of the two, the petition gives the most information about John and his family. He filed this particular document in 1915, so the majority of his children were already born. Although, it mistakenly lists his wife as Ella, all of his children are listed in the correct order with the correct birth dates. In addition, the two witnesses who signed the document were both brother in laws to John J.

I was both excited and confused to find these documents. Aside from the fact that John J. states many times that he was born in the US on his personal documents, I know from a reliable source that he did not have an accent. Could that be possible if he arrived in Massachusetts at the age of 18?

I also find it interesting that I know his wife and her family was also from County Galway, Ireland. Did the Daley and Tully families know each other in Ireland? If so, where are the rest of the Daleys? What’s more is that I can not find a passenger record that matches the immigration information john lists on his naturalization records.

All of these questions and more, I still want to answer about my great great grandfather. I’ll keep looking, because I know the answers are out there somewhere.